Lady Slippers..
 

Our Lady Slippers have returned again this year, bumper crop. We have 12 that came up. Sad they won't last more than a couple of weeks.

Attachment 7958

Info for those interested in this wild orchid.

."Pink Lady's Slipper"

Is a very attractive and popular plant because of the strange and beautiful pink flower. It is also rare and needs to be left alone in the few places it is surviving. The plant is actually an orchid with the alternate name of moccasin flower. The plant has two wide basal leaves that stay horizontal and a single stalk growing to about a foot high bearing the pink flower. Transplanting from the wild is strongly discouraged because of the rarity of the plant and the almost nil chances of success. New plants are difficult to start because of the need for symbiotic fungi in supping nutrients to the seed. It takes years for the new plant to develop leaves for supplying its own energy. The plant requires low pH, nutrient poor soil and other special conditions for successful establishment."

http://www.briartech.com/latespring/...k/ladypink.htm

Lucky you.:D The only lady slippers around here are under my wife's side of the bed.:laugh:

I have had one close to my garage for years, but this year it has not come up. I am so sad. We do have a few others kind of in the woods, they haven't bloomed yet. I have only seen 2 so far there and I usually have 6. I hope I don't lose them all. Do they only live for a certain amount of years, I wonder?

We have several on the island and seem to have more every year. They seem to like the piney woods and shade.

Ours come up every year and now have spread to an area under a bush we have also about a dozen i never touch then

They do like woods and shade. This one survived for years in the sun. I have myrtle growing all around it and it might have choked it out. Or maybe they do die of old age. I don't know.

I remember Chase Island had tons of them in the middle of the island, Chaselady.